Wire seal.



.scHuKLTZ. WIRE SEAL.4

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l5, 19l 6.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

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ISRAEL SCHULTZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WIRE SEAL.

Application filed June 15, 1916.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Isnanr. SGHULTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing' at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire Seals; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to self-locking seals, its general objects being to provide a simple, cheaply constructed and easily manipulated seal suitable for use on car doors, bulk meats and the like. More particularly, my invention aims to provide a seal in which the locking element or seal proper is formed from a single'sheet metal stamping and in which the band or strap isjformed of a single piece of wire. A further object is to provide a simple seal in which the anchoring part is sufficiently resilient and has sufioient play for adjusting itself to variations in the size, shape or exact entry of the part anchored thereby. Still other objectsv will appear from the following specification and from the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of a seal embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of the sheet metal blank from which the seal cap or seal proper was formed.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the seal on a still larger scale.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the seal cap.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section through Fig. 3, taken along the line 5-5.

In the embodiment of the drawings, the flexible element of my appliance consists of a wire 1 having at one end a head or anchoring portion 2, this wire being preferably round so as to avoid the damage to workmens hands which is so common with seals employing strips of sheet metal. The other end of the wire 1 is equipped with a pointed tip 3 and has adjacent thereto two or more prongs or hooks 4 formed from the wire and extending substantiallyl in a common plane. The other member of my device is a casing, preferably closed on all sides except for an aperture at each end, which casing continuously houses the head 2 of the wire, the said wire projecting through the perforation in the end of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

eriai no. 103,704.

casing adjacent to the said head as shown in Fig. 3. Mounted within the casing and preferably integral with the walls of the latter are a pair of jaws 6 of resilient material, each of which jaws has a plurality of prongs 7 punched up fromthe same so as to adord a pair of apertures 8. Fach of the jaws 6 also has a pair of lugs 9 formed at opposite sides of the blank and thereafter bent at right angles to the jaw proper, and preferably also has its tip 10 bent similarly.

Positioned between the jaws 6 in the blank (Fig. 2) is a flap 11 adapted to be bent over the opening between the fixed ends of the jaws, this flap having a central aperture 12 through which the free end of the wire 1 maybe inserted into the casing or seal cap. At'its other end, the blank preferably has a pair of side flaps 13 adapted to be adjoined when folded at right angles to the larger sides ofl the casing, and a transverse flap 14 adapted to be folded over these side flaps, all three of these flaps having notches 15 which coperate to form the opening through which the wire 1 extends from the interior to the exterior -of the casing.

In using my appliance the free and barbed end of the wire is inserted through the end aperture 12 and has its prongs or shoulder formations guided into alinement with the apertures 8 both by the elongated shape of the aperture 12 and by tapering channels 16 formed in the two jaws 6. When n thus inserted, the pronged end of the wire spreads the jaws 6 bodily until the tips 10 engage the sides 17 of the casing, and thereafter bows the middle portion of each jaw outward until the lugs 9 also strike the sides of the casing, by which time the prongs or hooks 4 have entered the apertures 8 in the respective jaws, whereupon the resiliency of the jaws will cause the latter to spring toward each other. Then even a slight backward pull on the wire will cause the hooks 4 to slip over the respective prongs 7, so as to assume the position shown in an enlarged and somewhat exaggerated scale in Fig. 3. The extreme tips of the hooks 4 are also preferably recurved toward the wire 1, so as to hook over the prongs 7, and when so disposed they will anchor the'jaws 6 against a subsequent spreading. Consequently, even if a wire or instrument should subsequently be inserted in the same direction in which the tip of the wire entered the casing, such an implement could not separate the jaws Cil and permit an unlatching of the interchanged portions of my seal. Even Without this snapping of the recurved hooks into position, it Will be obvious that the bent tips l0 and the lugs 9 Will limit the separational flexing of the jaivs G, thus making it extremely diilicult to separate the aWs and unlatch the Wire. Moreover, the diminutive size of the opening l2 Will also make it diiiicult to insert any tool for the purpose of unlatching the seal, so that in practice my seal should be proof against tampering even 'ithout the recurvin-g of the hooks el.

rEhe adjoined portions ot' the Casing Vor seal proper are preferably united by solder or the like to prevent their being sprung apart, and lateral portions 18 and 19 of the blank are preferably lapped over each other; While any desired name, number or other legend may be imprinted or indented on some part of the casing. However, l do not Wish to be limited to this or other details of the construction and arrangement herein disclosed, it being obvious that the same might be altered in many Ways Without departing from the spirit oi my'invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. ln a seal of the class described, a flexible member having one end equipped on opposite sides with barbs disposed in a common plane, a casing having at one end an elongated opening permitting the entrance of said end when presented with the said barbs in alinement with the longer axis or said opening, and spring jaWs Within the casing disposed transversely of the said axis, each of said aivs having a formation adapted to engage one of said barbs and having a tapering groove, the said grooves being in alinement With the said axis.

2. A seal comprising a Wire having a pointed end and equipped adjacent to said end with spaced prongs, a housing secured to one end of said. Wire, and a pair of opposed resilient jaivs integral with the housing and disposed Within the latter, said jaws being equipped With apertures adapted to be entered by said prongs and with lugs intermediate of the jaws for limiting the separational movement of the latter.

3. AA seal comprising a Wire having a pointed end and equipped adjacent to said end vith spaced prongs, a housing secured to one end of said Wire, and a pair of opposed resilient jaws integral with the housing and disposed Within the latter, said jaws being equipped with apertures adapted to be entered by said prongs, said prongs being recurved for engagement with the jaws so as to prevent a separational movementof the jaws When engaged by the prongs.

4. A. seal comprising a Wire having a pointed end and equipped adjacent to the latter With oppositely directed prongs, a housing secured to one end of said Wire, and a pair of resilient jaws integral With the housing and disposed Within the latter, said jaws including flat portions each equipped with an aperture; each jaw having near its juncture with the housing a channel formation arranged for guiding one of said prongs into the aperture in said j aw.

ISRAEL SCHULTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

